An explosive device was found Thursday morning outside a government building in Holon, Tel Aviv police confirmed.

The bomb was found around 9 p.m. in an open area next to the Holon licensing office. Unlike many false alarm "suspicious packages", the device did turn out to be an actual bomb and was neutralized by police sappers who were called to the scene.

Tel Aviv District police said Thursday that it appears that the attempted bombing was criminal in nature, and not "nationalist", the term used for terror attacks. The district has opened an investigation into the incident.

Unlike is usually the case in such instances, the discovery of the bomb was not reported by police to the press, and was only commented on officially hours later following an inquiry.